


Trust Is a Delicate Thing

by thirstyplantman



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hyrule and Legend are the main focus, Hyrule steals Legend's dream journal, Legend has a bad time but it gets better, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Marin is only mentioned, Panic Attacks, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2021-01-31 04:36:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21440323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirstyplantman/pseuds/thirstyplantman
Summary: Legend was never one to talk about his past experiences. All of the secrecy had only helped to fuel Hyrule's curiosity. And after all, it couldn't hurt to borrow his journal for just a little bit, right?
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe), Link/Marin (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 176





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to @DoucheMcBagger for reviewing this for me! <3

"So, what song is that?"

The question had startled Legend, effectively cutting off his quiet, timid humming. He glanced up to find none other than Hyrule. Great. And as much as he admittedly liked the other’s company, he'd rather not spend the next ten minutes deflecting questions about his past. 

"It doesn't matter," Legend huffed in response. "And aren't you supposed to be packing?"

"Finished already. I thought you could use some help," Hyrule replied, taking a seat down beside his friend and reaching to pick up one of Legend's strewn out tools. Unsurprisingly, he was immediately stopped by a firm hand gripping around his wrist.

"I don't need your help," Legend grumbled as he relinquished his grip, nudging Hyrule's hand away. "And don't touch my stuff."

Hyrule seemed to take it with a grain of salt, sighing as he leaned back on his hands. "Well, if you _ do _ need help. Let me know, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah…whatever." The other hero mumbled, shoveling items into his bag with a bit more urgency than before. Even with his quickened pace though, it was pretty clear after a few minutes that he was going to need help with all of the items. He sighed, turning to face Hyrule--who quirked an eyebrow. "Alright fine, you can help. Just…be careful."

Legend probably couldn't have said anything better if he tried, if Hyrule's comically large grin was anything to go by. The brunette almost immediately scrambled to sit up and help, carefully taking the tools handed to him. He was a bit too careful when it came to putting them into the bag, but he'd rather be extra careful and slow than accidentally set something on fire.

"…Do you really need all this stuff?" Hyrule asked after a few minutes of sorting, fidgeting with what seemed to be a bug-catching net. Why did Legend even need a bug-catching net? Who knows.

"Hey, you never know when you'll need something. And it's not like I'm throwing things out after how annoying they all were to get." He reached over to snatch the net from Hyrule and shove it into his bag. "C’mon, hurry up. We gotta leave soon."

Hyrule did try his best to hurry up with packing Legend’s things, but something caught his eye. A worn leather bound journal, no doubt the journal Legend occasionally wrote in late at night when he thought no one else would notice. _ What kind of things could he be hiding in there? _ Hyrule wondered, occasionally glancing over to the book. Legend was never one to talk about his past experiences. All of the secrecy had only helped to fuel Hyrule's curiosity. And after all, it couldn't hurt to borrow his journal for just a little bit, right?

All he had to do was wait for Legend to get distracted then swipe the journal. As long as he got it back in the other hero’s bag by the end of the day, there was no way he could be found out, or at least he hoped so.

Luckily, Hyrule didn't have to wait very long for Legend to become distracted. The other hero had turned his back to focus on sorting through what looked to be a box of rings. It gave Hyrule perfect timing to set his plan into action.

The brunette cautiously leaned over to pick up the worn journal, quickly sliding it away into his own bag. It didn't seem like Legend had noticed, having been far too busy inspecting every single ring he owned. Score. Now all he had to do was finish putting away the rest of Legend’s tools. Hopefully, the other hero wouldn’t notice his missing journal. It thankfully didn’t take long to finish packing away all of the stuff. Legend had yet to notice that anything was missing.

It didn’t take long before Time called for the group to start getting on their way out. It wasn't a long trip to get to the closest stable according to Wild and that slate of his. Even if it wouldn't take too long to get there, it would still be better for them to get a head start on the journey before dark came. The constant onslaught of monsters always seemed to worsen by night, and that was definitely not something the group was looking forward to.

Luckily, it seemed like the goddess was smiling down upon them today for once. There were hardly any bokoblins around, although that might have also been Wild’s foresight on where the bokoblin camps were usually located. Even so, they thankfully all made it to the stable relatively unscathed, save for a few minor bruises.

Speaking of bruises, Wild was no doubt about to get quite a few. The moment they had reached the stable, he was roped into a bet with Warriors and Legend on how many times he could shield surf down the nearby hill without his breaking his shield. It was safe to say that they’d be at it for a while.

Hyrule, taking advantage of Legend's distracted state, found himself tucking away behind the stable. He carefully took a seat, mindful of prying eyes as he pulled out none other than Legend’s journal. It was a miracle that he managed to swipe it underneath Legend’s nose earlier. Usually the journal was kept under lock and key from others. Hyrule doubted that he’d have much time to read it before the other hero noticed it was gone.

He quickly opened up the worn journal, idly skimming through the first few pages. It was no shocker that most of the entries were in a script he didn’t recognize. Legend had been on several journeys--there was no doubt that he knew more than one language. It took solid couple minutes of flipping through the book before he landed on a section of entries in a script that he could actually decipher.

_"There’s a storm coming soon. I can see it on the horizon. If I time it right, I should be able to just make it through, but I’m not sure. It looks bad out there. Guess I can’t say they didn't warn me though. But it’s too late to turn back."_

_"All of my stuff is gone, it must’ve been lost with the rest of the ship-"_ How had Legend lost all of his stuff if he still had it now? Hyrule wasn’t sure what to make of it, maybe he just ended up finding it after all. He continued on reading.

_ " A girl named Marin saved me from the beach. She said she found me there unconscious. The last thing I remember is being struck during the storm. Honestly, I can't tell if that was a dream or not. It sure didn't feel like one. Also, as much as I like Marin so far, it would’ve been a bit more helpful if she had grabbed my sword instead of my shield when she dragged me back to her house. Hopefully, it'll still down on the beach. Guess I can’t complain too much though, she could’ve just left me there all together. " _

Not once had Legend ever mentioned a girl by the name of Marin, much less _ being struck by lightning _. To be fair though, he rarely talked about any of his journeys at all. Hyrule can’t say he blames him, reliving past memories like that was only asking for a bad time.

_ " Marin says this place is called Koholint Island. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of it before. It doesn’t seem like Marin knows where Holodrum or Labrynna is, much less Hyrule. Did the storm really push me out that far away? " _

_ " I found my sword still on the beach, thank fuck I didn’t lose it. What’s weird though is what an owl said to me. He said something about the monsters around here getting more violent and how I’m supposed to wake the Wind Fish, whatever that is. Apparently, waking it is my only ticket off this island though. Guess I’ll start heading north. " _

So far none of this made any sense to Hyrule. A Wind Fish? What on earth was that, and why did Legend have to wake it in order to get off the island? He continued on.

_ " That owl keeps speaking so suspiciously. I think there’s something he's not telling me, but it’s not like I have any better ideas on what to do. All I have to do is get all the instruments and wake the Wind Fish. It can’t be that hard. " _

_ " I like Marin a lot. We hung out at the beach today for a while. She dreams of becoming a seagull. If I'm honest, I thought it was a bit funny at first, but now that I think about it... I wish I could fly away with her and be free for once. "_

It took Hyrule a moment to realize the gravity of what he had just read. A _ seagull _. Is that why Legend always teared up whenever he saw them? Is that why he couldn’t stand being near a beach? It was at this point that Hyrule wondered if he should keep on reading or not. He still had time to sneak the journal back into Legend’s bag… but it was far too tempting to keep on reading.

_ " I could listen to Marin sing for hours. She even let me play along with her today. I’m still not that great at the ocarina, but I don’t think I did that badly. Maybe I could practice along with her more. There’s no reason I have to rush waking the Wind Fish, right? " _

Reading this was definitely a bad idea. It was starting to get too personal. But as Hyrule read more and more, he realized he couldn’t stop. He had to know why Legend refused to speak about any of this.

_ " I can’t wake the Wind Fish. I fucking knew that owl was hiding something from me. What a sick joke this all is. This place isn’t even real. I’m trapped in the Wind Fish’s dream. If I woke it up, sure all the monsters would be gone, but so would everyone else. I’d be killing Marin. I can’t do that. I can’t wake the Wind Fish. I don’t want her to die. I love her. I can’t ever let myself wake up. Being able to leave isn’t worth sacrificing this island- no, sacrificing her. How could I ever live with myself if I chose my life over hers?" _

_ "I have to do it. I have all the instruments. I banished the remaining nightmares. All I have to do is play her song. I promised her that I’d never forget her. That I’d never forget this island, the people I met, the nightmares I fought, the dreams I wished to save. That even if the dream of Koholint Island was doomed to fade away, that I would never allow the memory of it to." _

_ "Sleepers wake, dreams will fade, although they cling fast...Was it real? What we saw? I believe." _

_ "One day, we’ll dream again, Marin. I believe." _

A teardrop splashed silently onto the already water-stained paper of Legend’s journal. How long had Hyrule been crying? How long had he been-_ Oh no _. He hadn’t been paying attention to see if Legend was still distracted or not. Oh Hylia, this wasn’t good. He quickly slammed the journal shut, wiping furiously at his eyes as he forced himself to stand upright.

Taking a quick peek from behind the stable, Hyrule mentally kicked himself for losing track of time so easily. Legend was definitely not distracted anymore. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen. He had probably disappeared in order to get out of being scolded by Twilight for indirectly getting his protégé bruised. _ Where could Legend have gone though? _ Unfortunately, Hyrule didn’t have very long to ponder the question as a finger tapped his shoulder. Yeah, he was screwed.

The hero spun around so quickly it’s a miracle he didn’t lose balance. Carefully, he tucked the journal behind him, praying that his friend hadn’t seen it yet. This was really bad.

“Oh uh, hey Legend! Sorry, I didn’t see you there!” Hyrule chuckled nervously, pressing his back further up against the side of the stable.

“What’ve you been up to? You should’ve seen the look on Warriors face when Wild tumbled down that hill. Easiest 20 rupees of my life.” He paused, noting the red tinge of Hyrule’s eyes. Had he been crying? 

“Oh! I’ve been up to nothing uh- nothing quite as exciting as that, really. Just… hanging around back here for a bit.” Legend’s eyes narrowed at that, leaning to the side to try and see what it was Hyrule was hiding behind his back.

“So, what’ve you got there?” Hyrule cringed at the question, gripping the journal tighter. There was no way he was getting out of this by lying--he just had to come clean about it. Hopefully, Legend didn’t hate him forever for this.

“I…” He started, clearing his throat before continuing, “I know I should’ve asked, and I’m so sorry I just- I got so curious and…” He slowly brought out the journal, holding it out towards its owner. “_ I’m sorry _.”

Legend froze, reaching out to take the book._ Wait, this was_\- “This is my- you… You _stole_ my _journal_?!” The other hero winced, nodding as his gaze rested on the ground. “How could- I… I**_ trusted _**you!”

“I-I know… I’m so sorry, Legend I-” Hyrule started, only to be cut off mid-sentence.

“You what? _ You fucking _ ** _what_ ** ? You had no _ right _ to know my secrets.” He was absolutely _ livid _ . “What the _ fuck _ makes you think you could just abuse my trust like this?”

“I didn’t... I just-” Hyrule sniffled and wiped at his eyes, hazarding a look up and immediately shrinking down from the glare he received.

“You just _ what _ ? You thought I wouldn’t find out? You thought you could just invade my _ privacy _ and… and- This is what I get for trying to fucking trust people. I thought if there was anyone I could trust it’d be _ you _ , and this is what I get- You know what? _ Fuck you _. Fuck all of this.” He slammed the journal back into Hyrule’s arms, storming off. The shorter boy scrambled to hold the book shoved at him, starting to run after his friend.

“_Legend_ _wait!_ No no no, _please_. I’m so sorry, _please come back!_” Hyrule cried out, trying to follow after him but being stopped by firm arms holding him back. “No _no_, I have to go after him- _Let me go!_ Please! Please...I have to go after him...” He sinks to his knees, gripping tightly to the person holding him.

“Hyrule.” It was Time who held him back, of course. He should’ve guessed as much. “Let him go. There’s nothing you can do about it while he’s still upset. Come on, let’s get you sat down,” Time sighed, carefully hoisting the other boy up and moving him inside the stable. He shifted to take a seat down on one of the beds, curling an arm around the crying boy.

“It’s… it’s all my fault… I stole his journal- I… I _ knew _ it was a stupid thing to do, but I just-” He cuts himself off with a quiet sob. Time felt a pang of sympathy for him, gently patting his back.

“While it was a poor choice of yours to steal something of his, I don’t think Legend will be out of your life forever because of it. He simply cares about you too much,” the eldest Link murmured.

“But what if he doesn’t though?! He didn’t want _ anyone _ to know about… about _ that _.” Hyrule cringed, staring down at the journal in his hands and gripping it tightly.

“Mind if I take over?” Sky murmured, receiving a thankful look from Time. As much as the older Link wanted to help comfort Hyrule, he had some... other matters to attend to. Namely, sending a certain wolf to go watch out for Legend. After all, it’s dangerous to go anywhere alone.

It took some careful maneuvering on both Sky and Time’s part in order to switch places without jostling Hyrule too much. But eventually Sky managed to replace the older Link, protectively curling an arm around the still sniffling Hyrule. As the silence began to drag on, Sky began to hum a soft melody in an attempt to provide just a bit more comfort to his crying friend.

“Hey… Sky?” Hyrule mumbled after a few minutes of listening to Sky quietly hum, fidgeting with the journal in his hands.

“Mhm?” Sky hummed in response, rubbing Hyrule’s shoulder soothingly.

“Do… do you think Legend will forgive me?” The chosen hero seemed taken aback by this question, resuming his quiet humming for a moment or two while he thought of an answer. 

“Well,” he started off, glancing down to the boy curled up to his side, “it may take a while for him to forgive you, but I’m sure that he will eventually. I know that Legend might be prone to holding grudges, but… I don’t think he could ever hold something against you like that for very long.” He assures, giving Hyrule a light squeeze around his shoulders.

“I… I hope you’re right,” he mumbled, sighing as he set the journal beside himself. There wasn’t anything he could do about the situation until tomorrow. He just hoped that Legend would be willing to forgive him. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In hindsight, running into the woods alone and without his bag wasn’t the greatest of ideas. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like Legend could do anything to change that now. If he went back he’d have to face Hyrule, and the thought of confrontation was a strong deterrent. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a while to figure out how I wanted this story to end, but I hope I did it justice. 
> 
> Thanks @DoucheMcBagger for my life. Editing this thing was a trip. <3

In hindsight, running into the woods alone  _ and _ without his bag wasn’t the greatest of ideas. Unfortunately, it wasn’t like Legend could do anything to change that now. If he went back he’d have to face Hyrule, and the thought of confrontation was a strong deterrent. 

He huffed, shoving past a tree and accidentally snapping one of its branches. He should’ve kept a better eye on where his journal was. How had Hyrule even gotten it without him noticing? It wasn’t like Hyrule was  _ that  _ great at stealth. Legend let out a sigh as he idly kicked pebbles along the dirt pathway. This is why he shouldn’t ever put his trust in people.

The sound of light dripping rain snapped Legend out of his thoughts. Oh, great. It had started raining. He grumbled, heading further down the path in the hopes of some cover. Today really couldn’t get any worse, could it? Well, it looks like it could. The rumble of thunder made him stop dead in his tracks. Oh fuck, why did this have to happen  _ now _ ? Fuck Wild and his weather prone world.

He turned to start heading back towards the stable before he paused. Which direction had he come from? In his anger driven haste to get away, he hadn’t been paying attention to his surroundings and now… He couldn’t even tell which direction he had come from. Everything looked the same. Fuck. He didn’t have much of a choice now. He picked a direction and started running.

The hero didn’t make it very far until lightning crashed, scorching a nearby tree. The warmth of the flames sent a shiver down his spine. Legend grimaced and immediately ducked up against a nearby boulder. His heart raced, hands shaking as he tugged his hat further over his ears. Unfortunately, his efforts to block out the sounds of the storm were futile. Nothing could stop him from hearing the pouring rain, the crack of lightning _ , the crashing of waves. _ Legend shuddered as unwanted memories flooded his mind. The smell of ozone filled the air as lightning struck once again--the booming sound deafening.

A sudden light pressure against his leg made him jerk, reflexively reaching to grab a weapon he didn’t have. He froze, his bag was still at the stable. Shit. The sound of a low growl made it to his ears, reminding him of his apparent company. Although, perhaps the company was more friendly than he had thought.

“Wolfie! Oh fuck, you- you have to go get Wild or- “ A crash of lightning cut him off as he flinched, taking a deep breath before he continued on, “or fuck, just get  _ any _ of them. I…I can’t do this again.” He shuddered, hands curling over his ears in a fruitless attempt to quiet the sound of thunder suffocating him.

The wolf gave a quiet bark in...confirmation? It was hard to tell as it ran off and disappeared into the woods, only to return as Twilight seconds later. The taller Link was met with a fairly confused look from Legend.

“How- You  _ cannot _ tell me you made it here that fast. You- “ He was cut off by a raised hand.

“We can talk about it later, but as for now, can you stand?” He offered out his hand. Legend accepted it and slowly shifted up to stand. “We need to make it back before the storm worsens.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Legend grumbled, trying to hide a flinch as lightning struck a nearby tree. It wasn’t too hard to notice it unfortunately, especially for Twilight’s keen eye.

“You alright?”

“I’m  _ fine _ . Let’s just- which way is the stable?” It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t  _ fine _ , but there were more pressing issues at the moment. They needed to either find better cover or make it back to the stable. As much as Twilight worried for the other hero, now wasn’t the time to stand around talking.

“It should be this way. Come on.” They started on their way back. It wasn’t easy by any means, Legend’s legs trembled with each step he took. It was starting to take a toll on their pace. It wasn’t until a solid ten minutes of having to stop repeatedly to help Legend regain balance did Twilight get fed up. There was really only one solution.

“I am  _ not  _ climbing on your back.” Legend glared, crossing his arms.

“We’re too slow and you can barely run.  _ Don’t _ think I haven’t noticed.” Twilight almost growled, glaring down at him. The other hero almost cowered at the stern gaze. It seemed like Time wasn’t the only one to perfect a  _ look _ .

“Fine! Fine.” Legend caved in, huffing in annoyance. “But if you tell anyone about this, I’ll- well...I don’t know what I’ll do yet but I’ll...do something.” Twilight rolled his eyes and crouched down to let Legend climb onto his back. While Legend was still hesitant, he complied. His arms wrapped around Twilight’s neck and shoulders as Twilight’s arms looped under his knees to hoist him up. It was clear that Legend wasn’t pleased with the arrangement, but even he couldn’t deny that it would be faster. Right now, he just wanted to get out of the storm. 

At least it was comfortable. Actually, it was  _ very  _ comfortable. Had Twilight’s pelt always been this soft? Damn. “Don’t get too comfortable back there.” Twilight warned, making Legend roll his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. Get a move on already.” The other Link grumbled, bonking his head against the back of Twilight’s as if to spur him on. “C’mon.” Twilight snorted, readjusting his grip on Legend’s legs before heading off down the trail. The path was getting even more slippery with the constant rain, making it undoubtedly harder for Twilight to trek through it. Wild’s Hyrule really did always have the worst timing for weather.

As the two made their way back, something caught Twilight’s attention, or rather the odd silence of the normally chatty hero did. There was no doubt that something was going on with Legend. He had seemed so panicked earlier. Things didn’t usually seem to bother Legend to this extent. Did he just not like storms? Was it the sound of the thunder? Was he just upset with Hyrule still? Twilight couldn’t fully tell, but either way he couldn’t help but worry for his companion.

Hopefully, they would make it back to the others soon.

__________________________________

It had been hours since Legend had left the stable and Hyrule was getting  _ very  _ worried. He was sat alone at one of the stable’s beds, leg bouncing nervously as he listened to the rain pouring outside. All he could do was hope that Legend would be okay, at least it was just rain...or so he thought. The boom of thunder nearly made him fall off the mattress. Thunder meant... _ oh no _ .

The hero stood up immediately, heading over to one of the stable’s entrances to get a good look outside. Sure enough, a flash of lightning struck down at a nearby tree, making him and most of the other Links flinch. This was  _ bad _ . Legend was still out there. He could be caught up in the middle of the storm. Did he even find cover?  _ Was _ there any cover out there? Most of Wild’s Hyrule was open fields… Wait, Legend didn’t have his bag either. His bag was still- 

“Oh, _ fuck.” _ Six heads turned in shock at Hyrule’s curse, most in shock and one in admiration of Hyrule cursing. Hyrule cleared his throat. “Sorry, I- Legend is still out there and…” He glanced down to the familiar bag in his grasp, gaze filled with worry. “He left his bag here. I just- what if he’s-” 

“You want to go find him, don’t you?” Time asked, receiving a nod from Hyrule. “It might not be a bad idea. Twilight should be with him, but...they’ve been gone for far too long.”

“I could go with you,” Wild offered. “This is my Hyrule after all.”

“I’d… really appreciate the help, yeah.” Wild nodded at him before starting to gather up his gear. Time seemed a bit hesitant on sending just the two of them out, but Legend and Twilight couldn’t have gone that far. 

“You two better stay safe,” Time warned, pausing before tacking on, “and don’t do anything reckless.” He pointedly looks to Wild, who gives a sheepish smile and a thumbs up in response.

“We won’t… or at least we’ll try not to,” Hyrule nervously chuckled, giving a slight wave to the rest of the Links as he and Wild ventured out into the pouring rain. Wild’s Hyrule always did have such dramatic rain showers.

“He went off this way, right?” Wild called over to him, already jogging off towards a pathway leading down and away from the stable. Hyrule nodded, quickly following after him. The two heroes jogged down the path, Hyrule being a bit extra careful to not slip on the wet ground. It seemed like Wild was used to the slippery path, making his way down with ease. As the two Links reached the beginnings of a small forest, Wild paused and turned back to face Hyrule. The shorter hero nearly crashed into him at the sudden stop, glancing up with a confused look. “Whatever you do, avoid the trees. Got it?” 

Hyrule was about to ask why when lightning struck a nearby tree, snapping it clean in half. Oh. Well. Maybe it’s best if they avoid the trees. “Right… got it. Avoid the trees.” Hyrule swallowed hard before following along behind the other Link.

The forest was littered with broken logs, no doubt snapped in a similar fashion to the one before. A few fires had caught in the grass, but they were quickly doused by the heavy rain. At least they didn’t have to worry about the forest catching fire, hopefully.

They managed to make it halfway through the forest when something caught Wild’s attention. He stopped, signaling Hyrule to as well with a held out arm.

“...What is it?” Hyrule murmured, evidently getting shushed by the other hero. He frowned, listening for anything, but all he could hear was the booming thunder and the harsh rain. Was Wild’s hearing that much better than his?

“I thought I heard-” Wild took off, running down the path and leaving Hyrule scrambling to follow. What had he heard?

__________________________________

Twilight and Legend’s journey through the forest was proving to be more difficult than expected. Not only were logs blocking the pathway back but it felt like they had been walking in circles for hours. Twilight sighed, shifting his grip on Legend’s legs for a moment as he stopped in the middle of the path. Or at least, what he hoped was the path.

“Can you see anything?” He asked the resting boy on his back, taking a look around for himself.

“I can see trees, but somehow I’m guessing that’s not what we’re looking for.” Twilight rolled his eyes. “For real though, I can’t see shit in this rain. Fuck Wild’s Hyrule,” Legend grumbled, trying to look around without moving his head too much. He had started to get a headache, probably from the ever-so-annoying storm. Why must Hylia hate him so much?

Twilight sighed once again, carefully stepping over a log. Guess they had no choice but to keep trying to follow the elusive path. The stable couldn’t be  _ that _ far away, right?

Maybe the stable really could be  _ that _ far away. Twenty minutes of walking later and the two heroes were still nowhere near finding their way out of the forest. Not to mention, they had once again lost sight of the path. Twilight cursed under his breath, pausing for a moment to get his bearings.

“The storm’s getting worse. Can you see the path at all?” Twilight glanced around, but to no avail, it was impossible to distinguish the path from the rest of the forest’s floor. It was only after a minute did he notice the lack of a response from his companion. “Legend?” Nothing. “Legend? Are you awake?” He tried again, this time being met with a light squeeze around his shoulders from the other hero, confirmation that he wasn’t sleeping at least. Was the storm getting to him that much?

Well, it wasn’t like the storm was  _ helping _ keep Legend’s sanity in check. It all reminded him far too much of that day out on the sea…

_ After days of sailing, he had finally hit the storm. Harsh waves crashed against the side of his boat, saltwater drenching his clothes. He began to panic. He shouldn’t have tried to sail through the storm. The waves were getting too high, too unpredictable. A flash of light. His boat couldn’t last much longer and neither could he. His strength was beginning to fail, gripping tightly onto the tiller in a vain attempt to steer through the waves. Another flash of light, another large wave. There wasn’t anything he could do. He gripped onto the rope wrapped around the boat’s mast, hanging on as tightly as he could as his boat rocked. Another flash of light, a searing pain, his eyes watering, saltwater clogging his throat- _

“Legend!” A voice startled him out of his thoughts, eyes blinking open yet unfocused. He coughed, a hand flying to his throat, he couldn’t breathe. He panicked, trying to curl in on himself. Where was he? What was happening?  _ Was this real? _

A hand pressed against his shoulder, making him jolt in fear and shove the person away. He scrambled backwards, sitting up as his eyes searched around for who had touched him. His eyes blinked, meeting a concerned and somewhat blurry face. Who was- oh. Right.

“Legend?” Twilight tried again, tone softer than before. He held his hands up, trying to reassure him that he wasn’t an enemy. It couldn’t have been just the lightning that had scared Legend so badly.

“I’m fine,” the other hero croaked out, voice hoarse from crying. When had he started crying? He cleared his throat as if it would help, but nothing could dislodge the lump in his throat. “What-” he coughed, “what happened?” 

“I- You stopped breathing.” Had he? Legend blinked, about to ask something else before he was cut off by the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching. Twilight turned, no doubt hearing them as well. He reached a hand towards the hilt of his sword to draw it out before pausing as a familiar figure ran towards them.

“Where the  _ fuck _ have you two been?” Wild huffed as a panting Hyrule slowly came to stop aside him, clearly out of breath. 

“We lost sight of the pathway back.” Twilight shifted to stand, holding a hand down to help Legend to his feet. The hero wobbled, but managed to get up, avoiding Hyrule’s worried gaze by watching Twilight instead. “Can you walk?” 

Legend hesitated before shaking his head. There was no point in trying to tough this out for the sake of pride. He just wanted to get out of here.

“...Is he injured?” Hyrule asked timidly, receiving a shake of the head from Twilight. 

“Just startled, I think. The lightning’s real loud.” Hyrule nodded, relieved that at least Legend hadn’t gotten hurt. Honestly, Legend was somewhat thankful for Twilight responding for him. Talking was definitely not something he felt like doing right now, and much less with Hyrule. 

“We need to start heading back. This place isn’t safe.” Twilight and Hyrule nodded at Wild’s statement. He was right, after all. The group started heading off, Wild leading the way, of course. As they jogged along the path though, Hyrule couldn’t help but spare worried glances towards his friend. Every crash of thunder made Legend flinch, and he only seemed to get paler the closer they got to the stable. 

Something was definitely wrong with him, but would he even let Hyrule look him over when they got back? As much as Hyrule wish Legend would, he probably wouldn’t.

It didn’t take them long to make it back to the stable with Wild guiding them, thankfully. They were immediately met with some concerned looks as they ran into the shelter though, notably from Time and Sky. It looked like they were both about to ask something, but were cut off from Twilight.

“No one’s injured.” The group collectively relaxed somewhat, although Time still remained on edge, as expected. He hovered close by as Wild helped Legend off of Twilight’s back. It was probably good that Wild was helping him, considering that Legend’s knees buckled the moment his feet touched the ground.

“What happened?” Time asked, watching Legend force himself to stand. It was deeply concerning how shaken the usually bold hero looked, but no one dared to comment on it. 

“Just got caught up in the storm,” Twilight responded, helping Legend over to one of the stable’s beds. While Time didn’t fully accept the response, he didn’t press on for details. Those could wait for now.

Meanwhile, Hyrule itched to help, but he felt like he would only make Legend feel worse right now. He sighed quietly, taking a seat down besides Four. The shortest Link looked up for a moment from his book before reaching an arm around Hyrule’s shoulders and offering a comforting smile. Hyrule offered a light smile back, but it wasn’t hard to see how forced it was. Four set his book down at his side.

“Want to talk about it?” The shortest hero murmured, glancing over and across the stable to where Sky was fussing over Legend. It looked like Legend was mostly out of it. Normally when the others tried to help him he was practically kicking and screaming, or at the very least incredibly huffy about it. Now, he just seemed to be sitting there, numb. Hyrule just gave a shrug, forcing himself to stare down at his lap rather than across the stable to his friend, in the hopes that not looking at him would somehow lessen his worries. It didn’t seem to help.

“There isn’t much to say,” he sighed. “He won’t even look at me.” 

“It’s still fresh in his mind, not to mention…” Four paused, sparing another look over at the veteran. “Something else must have happened. He kind of looks like Wild does after he remembers something, you know?”

That made Hyrule pause, following Four’s gaze. Now that he said it, Legend  _ did _ have that sort of glazed look. What had he remembered- “Oh.”

“Oh?” Four was left waiting for an answer as Hyrule got up to cross the stable, coming to a stop in front of Sky and Legend. He cleared his throat, making Sky pause mid question to look up while Legend’s eyes remained fixed on the floor.

“Could I…?” Hyrule gestured to Legend, who would quite frankly rather be anywhere else but there at the moment. Sky hesitated before giving a nod and standing to leave the two of them alone. Hyrule was immensely thankful and carefully took a seat on the bed, leaving some room between him and Legend. A minute passed before Legend sighed in annoyance and begrudgingly spoke up.

“What do you want, Hyrule.” He said bluntly, not looking forwards to the conversation ahead of them.

“I just- Look, I'm not expecting you to forgive me for what happened earlier. I just... I want to know if you're okay." Hyrule cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “You look pretty shaken up is all.”

"I'm fine. You heard Twi earlier, I’m not hurt."

"You  _ know _ that's not what I meant." He dropped his hands to his sides, looking over to the hero beside him. Legend simply scoffed.

"I'm  _ fine _ .” He huffed, “I don’t need you checking up on me like this. Just leave me alone. Why do you even  _ care _ ?”

A silence drew on between them, but not for long as Hyrule spoke up.

"...I read about one of your journeys, y’know." Legend stayed quiet. "I can...understand why you wouldn't want to talk about it." Hyrule cleared his throat, “it was uh, the one on the island.” Legend tensed up, of course he had to have read about  _ that _ one. Hyrule let out a breath before continuing on, idly twiddling his thumbs. "I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that." He glanced over to him. “I don’t think there’s anything else you could’ve done though.” 

Legend didn’t respond immediately, taking a few shallow breaths before letting out a sad...almost laugh. "I could’ve just chosen to stay asleep forever."

"Legend…" The other hero avoided Hyrule’s deeply concerned gaze, staring down at his lap.

"I could’ve.” He reached a hand up to wipe the tears threatening to fall down his cheeks. “I never  _ had _ to leave.  _ Fuck _ , I could’ve just- “ He sniffles, voice catching in his throat for a moment. “I could’ve just stayed with her- " That’s what finally made him break, barely managing to choke out his words before getting cut off by arms wrapping around him. Legend sobbed, tucking his face against the brunette’s shoulder as Hyrule tried his best to comfort him.

"You did what you had to. It was a hard choice to make. I… I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must've been for you," Hyrule murmured. His heart broke at the sound of Legend’s quiet sobs. How long had he been holding all of this in?

“I just- “ It was getting hard to speak. But as much as Legend didn’t want to talk, he had to voice this. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes, trying to pretend that he wasn’t a total mess and crying on his best friend. “How can you not  _ hate _ me now?”

“Wh- what? What do you mean?” Hyrule frowned, beyond confused. How could he hate Legend? “Why would I hate you? I thought  _ you _ hated  _ me _ !”

“You saw what I wrote. You know what happened. I- “ He hiccuped, rubbing at his teary eyes with the edge of his sleeves. “I killed everyone on that island by waking that dumb whale.”

“That’s not how I see it. I mean...I don’t know everything that happened, but… it didn’t sound like you killed them. Maybe Marin got her dream in the end--to be a seagull. Well...maybe everyone else got their dreams too, y’know?”

“That doesn’t make what I did right.”

“No, maybe not...but would things really have gone well if you had stayed instead?”

“I- maybe not.” Legend frowned, flopping backwards to lay horizontally on the bed. He hadn’t really thought about it like that before. Maybe they had all gotten their dreams after all...

After a few long minutes of silence and mulling things over, Hyrule spoke up. It was better late than never. “...I  _ am _ really sorry for uh, stealing your journal and… reading it and everything.” He glanced over to Legend, who just sighed and slowly sat back up. Even if he didn’t expect forgiveness, Hyrule couldn’t help but feel hopeful.

“It’s- whatever.” Legend scoffed and nudged the other boy with his shoulder. He couldn’t stay mad at him forever. “Just...don’t  _ ever _ steal my stuff again, got it?”

“Got it!” Hyrule almost cried in relief at the gesture, a large grin forming on his face. Legend snorted in response, shoving away Hyrule’s smiling face with a hand, earning an undignified squawk in protest. “Hey!” He laughed, tugging Legend’s hand down from his view, only to see the other hero’s matching grin. Hyrule only grinned wider. “So- we’re okay, right?”

Legend rolled his eyes, but nodded, leaning forward to lightly bump his forehead against Hyrule’s with a grin. “Yeah, we’re okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This is the first time I've really posted a fic on here. Comments and kudos are always appreciated! <3

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not going to lie, I got the idea to write this from the thought of Legend saying "You stole my dream journal!"


End file.
